The King
by CynicAlb
Summary: AU What would the world be like if Hathor had managed to get a foothold on earth? Rated for intense situations, references to repeated violence and rape.


Title: The King

Spoilers: Hathor, into the fire.

Genre: AU, Character Death, Angst, Hurt/Comfort

Summary: The universe where Hathor wasn't kicked off the base by Sam and her female fighting squad.

* * *

The King laid on the massive bed in his normal state of ruffled unconsciousness his long sandy hair messed and matted and his mouth slack and bloody. A slave knelt next to him cleaning him of the evidence of the Queen's latest fantasy. The King barely breathed his body a patchwork of bruises and torments the slave didn't want to imagine. He moaned and began to stir. She pulled a small dropper bottle from her robes and allowed a few drops to settle on his tongue. She caressed his face with sympathy on her face knowing the drops would only provide him with a little solace and peace from the torments of the Queen. His breathing slowed further coming in small gasps until it stopped completely.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the panic in the blue eyes before they dropped closed. She stood and collected her cleaning tools. She walked across the opulent bedroom to the door shaking her head sadly she left pausing only to inform the guards that the King was dead and would need to be revived.

* * *

Jack O'Neill hated the Trans-dimensional Mirror, anything that involved alternates, evil twins and people asking for help. The two women sat at the briefing room table right now were talking about those very things. Samantha Carter and Janet Frasier had appeared in the storage locker where the mirror was kept and were now telling their counter-parts, Daniel, Teal'c and himself the woes of their version of this fair planet.

"Hathor took over." said Alt-Janet without preamble. Daniel blanched at the mere mention of the name. "There weren't enough women on base to mount a strike force, it was all we could do to retreat and inform the President."

"But that effort was ultimately futile." said alt-Sam, "he was soon under her control."

"Infinite possibilities," Daniel muttered rubbing his brow above his glasses. "It makes sense she would have succeeded in one of them." He shrugged but he was clearly unhappy about it.

"What happened here?" asked alt-Sam.

"I guess we did have enough women." said Sam. "Janet and I led strike team, managed to heal the Colonel and tranqed all the men around her. We burned her brood but she escaped through the gate."

"So she's still out there?" asked alt-Janet.

"No," said Jack, "I killed her a few months ago." He didn't elaborate.

"What is it you want from us?" asked the General.

"Help." Alt-Sam shrugged. "We have a plan, but our numbers are few so a half dozen women to help us retake the mountain we'll use tranqs too and hopefully once she's dead we can get our men back."

"I'm sorry ladies, but we can't devote the resources of this command every time someone from an alternate universe asks for our help." said the General.

"We do have an alternate plan." said alt-Sam looking an apology at Daniel. "Hathor has been using the same source code for all her off-spring for the last two years."

"We think it's because she needs a specific kind genetic code in order to spawn." said alt-Janet.

"The King is kept at the palace but we have spies in the slave pool that can get to him."

"So you stop the snake-bitch from making more baby snakes and you slow her down some." Jack shrugged. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"We've killed him a few times, but Hathor has a sarcophagus, if we sabotage it we'll have no way to cure those men that have been changed by her."

"The King." Daniel croaked.

"Yes, I'm sorry." alt-Sam said. "This was our plan until we found the mirror and it will be our plan if you refuse us."

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand." Hammond said.

"It's me." said Daniel, "Hathor picked me when she came here too, so I guess she kept her promise to make me her new Pharaoh."

"No one else knows." said alt-Sam, "only those of us from the SGC. To the rest there's the King, and Daniel Jackson, the man who opened our world to the wonders of the stars."

"Kill him." said Daniel.

"What?" Jack cried.

"Think about it." said Daniel almost angrily, "he's been with her for two years, two years of her and the Nishta, and the sarcophagus. You remember me after only a few days in that thing imagine that times two years. Add in regular drugs, and torture, regular," he took a deep breath, "rapes. Would you want to live after that? We don't even know if he'd even survive the withdrawal, let alone be mentally sound."

"Daniel." Jack gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Two years Jack, and you're probably her First Prime," he spat, "you're alternate is probably in charge of putting me in that damn box to be ready for next time." He turned to the alternates. "Kill him," he said again. "Kill him and kill her and destroy the sarcophagus and as many of her brood as you can find. We know the Nishta needs certain proximity but go in with zats and get everyone just in case. He won't thank you if you save him, just promise you'll find Sha're and do her the same favor and he'll have the peace you clearly want to give him."

Sam and Janet looked surprised by Daniel's vehemence, but Jack simply squeezed his shoulder in sympathy. The alternates were almost on the verge of tears.

"We didn't know him that well, only a couple of months since the start of the program." said alt-Sam. "I wish there was another way, to do this without destroying the sarcophagus."

"There is." said Daniel, "but it needs to be done anyway; the men who've been turned into Jaffa won't be healed by it."

"How do you know?" asked alt-Janet.

"The sarcophagus heals the most recent wound; it doesn't erase scars and old wounds. Your men are Jaffa now it's too late to change that."

"But a sarcophagus would still be useful if we can kill Hathor without destroying it."

"The sarcophagus is as powerfully addictive as a narcotic and a hundred times as bad." said Daniel.

"It steals a part of your soul." said Sam, "The Tok'ra believe it's part of the reason the Goa'uld are so bad."

"You're not going to help us are you?" asked alt-Janet.

"We don't have the resources to help you." said Hammond. "We've taken heavy casualties in the last few months and we've barely refreshed our ranks."

"Besides," said Jack, "you've already got a plan sitting in your laps."

"What's that?" asked alt-Sam.

"Kill the bitch, destroy the box and if the King is too far gone…" Jack paused, "give him peace."

"And bury your gate," said Daniel. "At least until you rebuild your society."

The two alternates looked around the table and knew they would get no further help from these people.

* * *

The King gasped heaving breath into a body that moments before wasn't living. He was trembling with the shock of returning to life. He sat up abruptly his body coursing with shivers that never really faded anymore. The First Prime was there, as usual, with his robe and a goblet of water. The King knew there was a time when the blank face of this man smiled and laughed easily, but try as he might he could never quite conjure the image. The First Prime only spoke when addressed, and The King hadn't been this cognizant in quite some time.

"What of our Queen?" he asked after climbing out and taking the water and robe.

"She had bid me watch over your revival while she deals with some insolence in the other side of the palace."

"As First Prime, should you not be fighting that battle?"

"As First Prime, I am doing as I've been bid by my Queen." He looked up sharply at the sound of gunfire in the distance. "Come, we must leave." The King was confused, but he trusted The First Prime and followed with only a small hesitation. The First Prime led him to the back of the room and opened a secret passage. "Come!" he said again more urgently. He helped the King still unsteady on his feet from the sarcophagus.

They emerged in the King's bedroom to find it occupied by two women dressed as hand slaves.

"I told you they'd come here." said the brunette.

"Only because it was the only place to look." said the blonde.

"You will leave this place; the King has risen and needs his rest." The First Prime boomed at them.

"When are the others making their move?" asked Janet out of the corner of her mouth.

"Should be any minute now."

As if on cue there was a huge far off boom and the palace shook in its foundation. The King screamed and clutched his head; only the quick reflexes of the First Prime saved him from falling to the floor. He carried his charge to the bed and laid him down still writhing in pain.

"So many." gasped the King, "so much pain."

"What have you done?" boomed the First Prime, glaring at the two women.

"The symbiotes," said Janet, "he must be connected to them."

The King blinked and seemed to come to his senses. "What happened?" he groaned. "Jack? What's going on?"

The amnesia didn't last long; a few minutes at most, it was enough to shock the First Prime back to himself and little else. The King went pale, whispered, "Oh god no." and completely shut down. The First Prime stayed with him, wiping the tears that fell silently from his staring unseeing eyes.

Janet and Sam stayed close but were always being called for to take care of something in the palace, oversee the recovery efforts, the burials; some of the Jaffa had died in battle, others had ended it themselves when they realized what had happened. Jack, for he was no longer First Prime of anything, didn't seem to have acknowledged his own condition except in the burden of guilt evident on his face at every pain-filled gasp that escaped the King's mouth. Jack whispered reassurances, apologizes, condemnations to un-named gods, all the while holding his friend rubbing his back to ease the shivers and tremors of withdrawal.

In a world where pain was his constant companion the King had never felt pain such as this. This pain sliced across him and through him in waves of trembling terror, spasms wracked his still weakened body, and he could feel hot tears trace their way from his eyes but he couldn't see who wiped them, couldn't move; couldn't even speak to thank them or beg them to end it. He didn't know why this was happening or for how long it had been going on, the pain ebbed and it was all he could do to heave another breath before the next spasm caught him and held on, he grasped hard at the warmth that was holding him, soothing him, and trying to muffle the pain.

Janet grabbed at the first aid kit she'd sent for and threw herself at the bed. Jack glared at her but didn't move or speak he just continued to rock his friend and whisper his comforting litany into his ear. Daniel continued to grasp at him like a dying man to a life ring.

"I'm going to give him a sedative and some morphine." said Janet, "It should help him relax, maybe sleep." They'd all waited, prayed for Daniel to give in; go to sleep, but the pain didn't let up it kept him on the edge, there was no rest in the place where the pain had taken him. Janet filled a syringe and injected it into the King's shoulder. He shuddered and stilled and finally collapsed face down in Jack's lap. Janet helped turn him on his back and the two of them gathered the blankets around him. Daniel gasped and sat upright.

"Jack!" he cried grabbing his friend's arm.

"Daniel, it's okay." said Janet.

"No," he gasped. "No, it hurts."

"I know, just go back to sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up." said Jack smoothing the hair back from his face.

"No, no-no-no-no-no-no-no, Jack; can't sleep, can't sleep, can't sleep, can't come back, don't want to come back."

"I don't understand Danny."

"I go to sleep, I remember, I remember going to sleep and it hurts and the pain, the pain goes away when I sleep." Daniel spoke painfully, haltingly gasping breaths between words, his fingers white holding a death grip on Jack's arm. "I remember, Jack I remember when the pain goes away and then I wake and you're there, you make the pain go away. But it comes back." He whispered, "She comes back, and I won't I won't I….don't make me go back," he sobbed the tremors coming harder now. Jack held him tighter, but Daniel forced him back in a surprise show of strength. "You have to, to, kill me." He stammered, Jack started to protest but Daniel shook his head, "This is killing me anyway, killing me slowly, it's stealing my soul, I can feel it. Don't, don't let her come back again for me, I can't I can't I…" Daniel was hyperventilating.

"Daniel!" barked Jack holding his face his hands. "Daniel, she's dead, she's dead and she's not coming back."

Daniel's eyes widened. "Dead?" he whispered.

"Yes, dead and never coming back. Go to sleep Danny." said Jack. "I'll be right here when you wake up."

Daniel nodded his eyelids already drooping in relief, his breathing slowed and he was asleep before his head hit the pillow. "Thanks Jack." He whispered and sighed, it was as if his whole body deflated when the air escaped. Janet checked his wrist and then his neck, and then started pulling him flat and opening vials of medications. Jack put a hand of hers.

"He's gone." He said. "Let him sleep."

Sam beckoned for Janet to come help her with some of the other wounded, and the two women left their friends alone.

A few hours later, Janet found Jack next to Daniel's body, his symbiote flipped sluggishly in the corner. Jack held tight to Daniel's hand and Janet couldn't help but note the absolute peace on both men's faces as they slept for the first time in two years.

* * *

Epilogue

Daniel sat at his desk staring off into space.

"Daniel?"

Daniel blinked and looked towards the door. Jack leaned against the door-jam with a grim look on his face. "I'm sure they did the right thing." He said.

Daniel sighed. "I hope so."

"I know so." said Jack.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because the alternative doesn't bare thinking about."

End


End file.
